Chevrolet TrailBlazer Speedometer

Comments

I also have the same problems on my 04 tb first the speedometer stopped working had the step up motor replaced now the entire cluster took a crap this is unreal and I told I have to pay for the repairs what a rip off with so many owners having the same problem there is something that should be done about this my truck has 89K miles on it .Then they say buy AMERICAN ..... Why should we spend our hard earned money on junk this will be my last AMERICAN made car I have owned 7 GM cars corrently have 3 but enough is enough.

Well I got contacted and asked for my VIN and other info.BTW my TB has had 3 new heads put on it!Factory one went south in 2008Friendly Chevrolets crappy work went south early this year.Now I'm on the 3rd one from Bankston Nissan.

Who knows? Maybe there will be some help or maybe not? Who knows?There is always the BBB and if enough are not helped or satisfied then filing a complaint, maybe in the thousands? would get their attention?

I'm gonna wait and see what they do and especially what the problem is.That'll tell you a bunch.Did they buy stuff from a crappy mfg?Did they install wrong?Etc, etc, etc.

Keep you up on what happens and I hope GM has learned it's lessons and maybe respects us taxpayers for keeping their butts out of the ditch?

I hae a 2005 Trailblazer with 97,000 miles and am now having problems with the speedometer sticking, jumping to 120 miles per hr, etc. I am seeing a lot of posts about this being an known issue and I am wondering if there is a way to get this fixed without having to pay for it. I have had a few problems with GM not wanting to cover the items even when they were under warranty. I love truck, but an nervous with seeing what everyone is saying. I am in the Navy and if anyones knows how I can get this fixed and not get screwed over, please let me know. Thanks!!!

Here is the deal straight from the GM horses mouth.I have the same problem. They responded to me after posting questions and reading the negative feedback from this blog and seemed in the first 2 emails to me that they were going to work with me even if I had to pay half or actual costs, that's what I offered them.Then I got a call from GM and they said:"we know of the problem and it is a manufacturers problem. it is an outsourced part. they will not stand behind their product after the original warranty expires even though they know they made a faulty part. sorry."

So we are all on our own.I suggest:After the tax payer pulled GM [non-permissible content removed] out of bankruptcy that was caused by poor management and extreme salaries for exec's, we should boycott GM and any product they make.All the American car mfg's are the same. I for one am going with the import car mfg's from here on out. I've never found a blog with a foreign car with these types of problems that GM has on EVERY MAKE AND MODEL they produce in some respect or another.

Goodbye GM, I'll pass my experience to every car purchaser I run into. It's sad an American company saved by the tax payer won't stand behind a poorly manufactured product.

And when they email you don't even for a minute that they are going to help you, they are not.

FYI,I am in the middle of dealing with the same issue as the other 5,000 people here, and the gentlemen that runs the below website was very helpful and willing to answer my questions, even though I haven't even ordered anything from him yet. Seems that GM could take a note or two from this guy.

Wow, thanks and a hearty helping of thanks for the Edmunds site with this blog in it. We would have never gotten anywhere without it.

Justin, I'm going to go to my mechanic and ask what the costs are to remove and replace the cluster if I provide the replacement/rebuilt unit.

By spending @ $250 or so (I'm just guessing at the total costs) GM could have made tens of thousands of customers happy and have kept them in the herd but as we have seen, they don't give a s**t about us, only our money.

Waiting till they fall to their knees again and hoping the government won't be as foolish as Bush was and bail the bastar*s out.They need to be broken up into separate companies.CadillacChevroletGMCEtcEtc

I have a 2005 Chevy Trail blazer that I bought in 2006. It did have high miles when I bought it (64k). Soon after the gas gauge went crazy. Then a few months later the speedometer went out. Now my RPM gauge is not working and I think the thermostat gauge is next. I have contacted several dealers in the area only to get prices. Each time the dealership knows exactly what the problem is. But funny, there is no recall!!! What a joke. The quotes I have gotten are anywhere from $475 - $575! OMG!! I can't afford that! I can't wait for this to be paid off so I can get a new vehicle. Never again will I buy a Chevy!!! NEVER!! :lemon:

Join the club, The GM will Club you to death after buying their product!There is a message posted in this forum referring to a speedometer doctor or doctor speedometer.I contacted him and am going to pursue getting my cluster rebuilt by him for @ $189.00 or so.I have to get my car to my mechanic and work out a schedule where I can get the useless Chevy part out, overnight it to him, have him do a 24 hour turn around and ship it back to me overnight.I'll be without my car for 3 days but it's worth it. It'll be even more pleasureful to get rid of this Chevy product. POS regarding the inst. cluster.I'm going imported from here on out. Americans cannot build a consistent quality auto. None of them, period.

They have film footage of UAW workers on break drinking alcohol and smoking pot. Can you believe it! And then they go back and assemble our cars? WTF!

What an embarrassment for GM. And another reason I'll go foreign next time.Every American auto maker uses the same slouches, the UAW, paid $50 to $75 bucks an hour including benefits and they let them go out and get drunk and doped up before they come back into the plant to assemble our future cars.

I have a 2005 Trailblazer as well and have had nothing but problems with it. The first was when the 4WD knob broke off. Then the fuel gauge stopped working. I also have a wiring problem that causes interference between the speakers and the accelerator (I hear a high pitched whizzing noise when I press on the accelerator). In the fall of 2009 the speedometer started malfunctioning like the problems that other posters have had. In the past year the oil gauge has now stopped working. The most recent defect in this glorified hunk of metal is a crack in the exhaust manifold. I will never purchase another GM product due to the number of problems and lack of customer support from the company. I cannot say that I am surprised that the company has gone bankrupt.

Will Americans ever learn!We the people bought their autos for a century and in the end they stick it to us by having tax payers bail them out and yet they continue to make crap for cars/trucks.I'm telling you guys and gals, go foreign! They are the only affordable vehicles on the market that will give you great gas mileage, durability, comfort and stay the FK together.

This problem isn't related to just the Trailblazer. I have a 2004 LeSabre which runs good and no major problems with the exception of the instrument cluster. It started out with the engine light coming on so we had towed and they couldn't find anything. From there it went to the gas gauge and then the speedometer. I kept track of gas by watching the odometer but not knowing how fast I was going became a problem. GM headquarters wouldn't do anything so went had the cluster removed ($30) and sent to a guy who sent one back at a cost of $115. The gas gauge and speedometer still work after six months but engine light has come back on. Just wanted to let everyone know that it's related to other GM vehicles.

Gas guage issue, when tank is full gas guage goes crazy, at first it would go from full to 1/2 tank, now it just stays on empty, whith the engine light, illuminating after it detects that my tank,is empty, also my lights at night seem to flicker, while driving, and so dose my instrument cluster. when at a stop all is well, just replaced the alt. still same issue,called chevy in Detroit, cust. complaint, said there is a Special Covarage # 10054 that cover 50% of repair, I feel that they should have a recall, if they know that there is an issue, but we know that will never happen. HELP.

My 70 yr old aunt has a 2003 Trailblazer and the instrument cluster does not work nor the gas gauge. Heat comes on my itself, electrical windows won't go down on command and doors won't unlock from the inside at times. This it the car she depends on to get to the doctor's office. I understand that GM knows that the instrument cluster is a problem with all the Trailblazers and I heard that they paid to have it fixed in the Tahoe. I feel they should pay to have it fixed in the Trailblazer as well. With this kind of workmanship its no wonder people are buying imports from other countries. Do you think I'll buy a GM car?

I am wondering if someone can help me. I have a 2005 Chevy TrailBlazer with 86,500 miles and the speedometer is not working properly. The speedometer doesn't register the speed properly as it goes past the 120mph and sometimes goes straight down to the odometer reading. When I come to a stop, it stops at 70mph. When I start the vehicle, it goes down 5mph to 65mph. I have to keep starting and shutting off the vehicle in order for it to go back to zero but does this at 5mph increments. Once it does, it will work for awhile and then it will go back to improperly working. I noticed I started using the cruise control more because I do some highway driving. Could the cruise control be the cause of it? Should I disconnect the battery to reset the computer so that it can work properly?

I have this same problem. I don't think it's the cruise control b/c I never use mine and my speedometer does the exact same thing. I have found that when I go at a higher rate of speed (highway driving) this is when it messes up. I live in the city so it hardly ever messes up just driving in town. Unless you want to pay around $500 you are just going to have to live with it. That's what I'm doing. : (

This is the same exact thing that happened to a 04 TB I had. I, also, had to keep starting the vehicle in order for the speedometer to go to 0. Anyways, I ended up getting it fixed and it was the instrument cluster motor that was causing it. Has nothing to do with the cruise control. I also did the battery disconnect thing and it would work fine for a couple of weeks but always went back to getting stuck. When this happened to me, my TB was only 3 years old and 10,000 out of warranty. I wrote GM a letter and they actually covered half of my repair which at that time came to 450 dollars. GM knows there is a problem so you might have some luck getting a hold of them. I tried the email thing and the phone calls but it was the letter that got their attention. I was told to do this by a lawyer friend of mine. He said that letters always end up on someones desk when emails go unnoticed and never get read. I took his advice and got 225 dollars out of the deal. However, with your vehicle being 7 years old now, I dont know if GM will do anything. Good luck...let me know how it turns out.

I have a simple solution to save money on a repair. Buy a GPS as they tell you your speed on the screen. This may be hard if you live in areas where cars are broken into and the GPS are stolen,but if you guard it well and take it with you when you leave the car you will be OK. My wifes Jeep has a built in Nav system that tells the speed.

It's the stepper motors on the back of the cluster, a known problem that has been discussed here many times. You have three basic choices:Have the cluster replaced - expensiveRemove it yourself, send it out to be repaired (google "trailblazer instrument cluster repair) - less expensive, but you need to get it out and back in yourselfRemove it and replace the stepper motors yourself (you need to have soldering skills) - least expensive

I called Gm after reading this forum and you are right. They won't fix it.I was told it was normal wear and tear. My Spedometer??? 5 years old has expired? I told the GM person, "I 've gotten more use out of my curling iron everyday for over five years and it cost$25.00 with a one year warrantee."They won't do anything. It's not safe driving and not knowning your speed. I've had the gas guage thing too. Emmissions light and faulty gas cap. Thanks

I know this feeling we bought our 2007 trail blaser in 2008 and the gas gauge never worked then about a year ago they had been recalled but they said that they would only pay half to get it fix. Seems to me if it is a recal and they screwed up they should fix it

Replying to this GREAT answer from 2009 (see IVAN10)on the issue of Chevy Trailblazer speedometer wigging out. My 2005 Trailblazer EXT started acting up about a year ago after taking a long trip. Thought it was the cruise control but it effected the speedometer incorrectly registering what speed we were going. Then my check engine light started to come on. BOTH ISSUES were intermittent. Finally called my niece's husband in VT (Chevy auto mechanic) and he suggested what IVAN10 has stated. Get that speed sensor replaced. Its a heck of alot easier to replace (and cheaper) then the IC cluster everybody keeps talking about. The dealership will most definitely go with that option first since it is FAR more expensive. Thank GOD for these blogs since we have to fend for ourselves....GM isn't go to help us! But PLEASE CONTINUE TO BUY AMERICAN!! We've got to save ourselves...and our country, too.

Speedometer issue just happened to me last night in TN/KY hills. Watched the speedo cruise past 120! With engine off stays at 65. Having just read all previous posts I've come to 2 conclusions...1) I'm THANKFUL for my 1998 Honda Accord with over 197,000 miles (and NO MAJOR PROBLEMS) and 2) Looks like I'm gonna have even more FUN THINGS to look forward to with my Trailblazer! Since it is only my speedometer that's wacked, is it the stepper motor more than likely?

GM has turned their heads with this problem. They are counting to make more money in the repairs. First, it will cost $50 for them to tell you that it is broke (yeah, we didn't know it was broke) and around $500 to have it repaired. This company could care less.

Wow, I wish I would have found this place BEFORE I just went through all the aggravation with my TB. lol I had a "new" cluster put in. Turns out "new" is actually refurbished. Anyway, the mechanic told me he had to take the car to the dealer to get it programmed (my word I forget the term he actually used) Well now instead of having 141,000 miles on my car I suddenly have 164,000. Since the gas gauge hasn't worked in forever, lol, I was using the trip odometer as a guide to fill up. Mechanic said well maybe the odometer wasn't working either. But I said listen, every time I fill the tank I put the trip back to "0". When I gave you the car this morning it had 181. Now that has 9595. I said you didn't drive my car almost 10,000 miles in 4 hours did you? dealer said it should work and charged $135 to do their thing. Now THEY say well can't tell you anything else unless you have a diagnostic done! What a mess

I have been through this site a year ago with all the same problems that other TB owners have had. Chevrolet is a bucket of owl piss in terms of the product they put out. They have a supplier of a component they know is bad and still don't stand behind it.No more Chevy's for me, my family or any of my friends if I have any input into the matter.I fixed my own with the help of DrSpeedometer. Can't say enough for this guy.He explained how to take the dash apart (I'm no mechanic) and how to put it back together. Anyone can do it if they can tell the difference between a phillips head and straight slot screwdriver.He fixed it, got it back to me with a 1 day turn around and I put it in in less than 30 minutes. Everything is excellent.I'll be keeping an eye on it, since it's only been @ a month, but have total faith in his work. He was not the cheapest on the internet but I saw not one complaint on his work, period.Chevrolet used to stand for the American family. Something you could stand next to and be proud.Now it's just a piece of junk under an old name sake that has ran it's course.I wish they would have let it fail and be broken up into several smaller companies. Maybe they would have learned?Stephen